(Ian Ritter is national online editor for GlobeSt.com/RETAIL.)

SYOSSET, NY-Taubman Centers might be back where it started years ago in its pursuit to build the 860,000-sf Mall at Oyster Bay here. A New York appellate court has sent the Bloomfield Hills, MI-based developer's proposal back to a town board that has fought the development in the past.

The move follows years of litigation during which time Taubman has tried to obtain a building permit to construct the center. Lord & Taylor and Neiman Marcus are among the anchors committed to the upscale mall, Taubman officials have said.

Taubman executives say they are hopeful that their newest efforts will come to fruition. "We would hope to work closely with the purpose of finding a compromise that reflects the needs of both sides," Barbara Baker, Taubman's vice president of investor relations, tells GSR.